Poland faces serious pollution problems from two generations of heavy industrialization. A third of Poles live in areas regarded as extremely polluted. In the southern region of Silesia, air, water and vegetation pollution are especially severe.
The metallurgical industry and thermal electric power stations are significant sources of air pollution. Sulfur dioxide readings in Krak≤w can exceed legal limits by 800 times.
Only 4% of Poland's rivers have water considered fit for human consumption; 75% had been declared biologically dead by the late 1980s. Any clean-up operation would be expensive.
